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Show -10- Peppermint Monday could read the uncertainty, because he continued in a low tone. "Hill dwellers used to say that killing a bee is bad luck. There'd be no chance of finding his honey, meaning hard times that year. No money. You all need so much money nowadays. Be best not to kill a bee." Without another word to anyone, he walked down the steps, out the yard, and toward the hills. His long strides taking him out of sight quickly. I suddenly felt small and foolish for swatting at a bee, although that was silly • There was no reason to worry about Jake's superstitions. Once in history class, pa had told us how bee trees had been an unusual source of wealth in earlier times. Such trees were eagerly sought, and then the bees smoked out. Honey had been put in deer skins with the legs tied in knots to keep the honey in. Then the women would separate the honey from the beeswax, running the beeswax into cakes for the market. All of that had made sense but Jake's verse was just nonsense. Pa said the hill people used to have superstitions for almost everything, and Jake was one of the few real hill people left. I just hoped he wasn't filling Russ' head with his wild stories. Jason and Russ were already in the kitchen rewarding Cheddar for his flight performance, when I came in the house. I could hear Russ' excited claps as the bird gulped down the cheese. Ma was cooking supper and asking Russ a lot of questions about Cheddar's mended wing. I listened for a few minutes, hoping she'd ask something about Jake, or hoping she'd say Russ shouldn't spend so much time with him. She could make it sound like Jake was a busy man, with his farming and all, and maybe Russ could play with the neighbor kids more. That way Jake could have more time for his crops and his sick animals. Ma didn't say anything like that though. She just talked about Cheddar, never even mentioning Jake. |